The Last Requiem
by Kaiser Ryouga II
Summary: Final chapter to the Millia/I-no series and follow up to Stroke the Big Tree. Millia and I-no face each other. For the last time. (Millia/I-no, shoujo-ai)


**Title:** The Last Requiem 

**Category:** Guilty Gear

**Rating:** PG-13

**Genre:** Romance/Angst

**Pairing(s):** I-no/Millia

**Chapters:** Part 4 of the _Kage no Ren'ai_ series 

**Language:** English 

**Completion Date: **

**Summery: **Final chapter of the I-no/Millia (_Kage no Ren'ai_) series. The song in this story Brutal Planet by Alice Cooper is not mine. For that matter, neither are any of the characters in this story. But then you know that... 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

We're spinning round on this ball of hate,  
There's no parole, there's no great escape,  
We're sentenced here until the end of days,  
And then my brother there's a price to pay,

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_I-no._

My soul bleeds to see her like this. I....I've never...experienced this side of her before. To see another side of someone you've felt that you've known is...disturbing. The playful glint in her eyes is gone. Her smile was always devious but...this is different. And that is not the end of my concern. 

It's her eyes.

_So cold, so sterile. So full of rage. That isn't the woman I know. Or at least not the woman I thought I knew. Maybe my view of her was wrong from the start. I never liked her attitude towards me or her treatment of me.  _

_How much of a fool I am, I can't bare to see this. Yet what really shocks me, is my lack of concern for the corpse resting next to her. Zato's corpse. My whole adult life was spent either running from this man or hunting him down like the dog he is (was). Yet as he lies next to her feet, lifeless. It just isn't what I had expected. His life...is already over. He was dying long before he came into contact with I-no, I can see that now. _

_Is this really what I've been chasing, all along?_

_But I cannot mistake myself. I knew that Zato was already dead. To me, he had died the day he joined forces with his shadow. The man I knew is gone. His body and shadow exist no longer...but his soul still lives._

_It lives within me. _

_That is why my mortal body will follow his cadaver to the ends of the earth. As long as it continues to be on this world, I will be there to crush it. Because it reminds me of the thing Zato became. When he became the man I hate. _

_But with the effort it took me to find him, she finishes him with that much of speed. And I can tell that she feels some satisfaction from it all. To know that *she* was the one who ended my struggle. To her the saga of Zato is over.  But the whole concept of this situation that she possesses it incorrect. Unless I finish him with my own hands, it will not be over for me. I thought that she had at least begun to understand the way I feel...but I was wrong. Wrong about her again._

_Was I wrong about her to begin with?_

_No...I know there is good within her. I can feel it. _

_Before long...she speaks out to me. "Well, well, well...hey there, Cookie. I was beginning to think that you wouldn't show. But I guess it's not kinda like you to be missing out on the party...especially when this shithole is involved."_

_I see her stamp on Zato's...no...that body's face. "I-no..." I hear my own voice. I sound fearful. But of what? "I have to finish him...please...just..."_

_"Just what?" She says, her cocky, arrogant smile returning to her. "Step aside? So you and your piece of shit carcass can rest in peace? You really think I could care less? I'd have more fun ripping his limbs off. You concur, don't you? "_

_I know when she's serious about something. She means what she says. But how...can she not understand why I need to do this? _

_"I-no...please do not get in the way of this. I have to end it all..."_

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

We're only human, we were born to die,  
Without the benefit of reason why,  
We live for pleasure - to be satisfied,  
And now it's over there's no place to hide. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**_Geh. Look at her. _**

****

**_Sweet ass cutie. _**

**_I'd do myself a mischief tryin' to figure out what makes that head tick._**** _Not like I could give a damn about her bullshit quest away. What really gets to me...is how obsessed she is over this damn shadow box. So much effort wasted on a pile of crap like this guy. Makes me wanna puke._**

****

**_All of it. Everything she does, everything she says, everything she fights for. It's all down to him. He's the reason she doesn't...want to..._**

****

**_Gah! Screw it all, I don't care. I want a bit of fun for myself...I know she'll amuse me. Always has. Only this time, it won't involve me stripping her of her virginity. I'll be ripping into her little boy toy. Will she try and stop me? Heh...not like she has the balls to. _**

****

**_A fucking coward like her. _**

****

**_Always piss running from a situation. Even if it screws around with the people she leaves in her wake.  As long as she and 'Zato' get the chance to wipe the floor with each other, that's all she'll ever want. _**

****

**_Even though I was the one who fucking broke her in. Even though *I* was the one who made her in a woman. So I think I'm owed this...now..._**

****

**_"What should I do first, Cookie?"  I say, her eyes already shaking. "Should I tear of one of those strong little arms of his and shove it up his ass? Or should I cleave out that black heart and hand it over to you? It seems to be what you want."_**

****

**_She's getting angry. But more at herself than me. Bummer. "You could never know what this is like for me, I-no. Please do not stand in my way. Step aside."_**

****

**_What an arrogant bitch. "You really think I could give a fuck about what you want right now, do you, Cookie? You assassins are all the same. You think the whole pissing world revolves around you. Like time will stop unless you get what you want."_**

****

**_"I am not an assassin." I see that little glint of anger in her eyes. I like it. _**

****

**_"Is that right...? Well, I guess I never could comprehend you Guild members." Just as she steps a little closer, I hoist her boytoy's corpse up with my hand.  " I know! How about an anatomy lesson? What-makes-an-assassin-tick 101. First class is a dissection.  Slice up the subject's stomach and inspect the assassin- borne innards. That sounds like one bitch of an idea. Care to join me?"_**

****

**_I see her scowl. "Why are you acting this way?"_**

****

**_And damn to hell, I know I'm shocked. Like she doesn't already know the score. This ain't my damn problem. I didn't run from my troubles. I didn't run away from the one thing that could make me happy. I wasn't the one who kicked her out of my life. Who the hell does she think is to be acting like the fucking victim here? _**

****

**_"Answer me, I-no! Why are you-"_**

****

**_"Shut the fuck up!"_**

****

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Why don't you...come down too...  
It's such a brutal planet, it's such an ugly world  
Why won't you, come down too...

This world is such perfection (What a sight)  
It's just like paradise (For my eyes)  
A truly grand creation (What a sight)  
From up here it looks so nice (For my eyes)

It's such a brutal planet, it's such a living hell,  
It was a holy garden, that's right where Adam fell.   
It's where the bite was taken, it's where we chose to sin,   
It's where we first were naked; this is where our death begins.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_Why is she acting like this?_

_Is it because I left her the way I did? That is it...isn't it? This is all because…she thinks I chose Zato over her. How can she so blindly misinterpret the situation?  Why can't she see this from my point of view? It's...important to me that I deliver Zato by my own hands. If I don't…I'll never be set free from the cage the Assassins have made for me...I need my life back..._

_And regardless of that...why is she still clinging to that? That thing we had? It wasn't love...it wasn't even friendship. Just mindless, comforting sex…I will not go on like this...I cannot allow myself to use another human being like a tool for my relief._

_Please let her understand. "I-no…It wasn't right...you know it wasn't...that's not the way it should be..."_

_She knows exactly what I'm speaking about. And as I finish my statement to her, a see that hateful glare in her eye. It's as though she...despises me...as though she hates me. _

_She hates me?_

_I-no..._

_"You really think I could give a shit about you, don't you?" She says, scorn leaking from every word spoken. "Get over yourself, Cookie. This isn't about you. It's about me. I'll cut you out of my head just like I'm gonna do to your boy toy."_

_She...doesn't care...I...I cannot face this. Zato is the issue. This...isn't the time. Why won't she step aside? Why do we have to go through this?  I feel my hair buzzing with intent. Quickly it sharpens out, almost of its own will. It seems to sense and understand my base instincts better than I can. _

_And I see I-no grin with delight. She actually wants to do battle with me. Why is this happening? We don't need to do this...we do not need to..._

_I struggle to hold back the fury of my hair. "I-no...please do not make me do this..."_

_It's too late. I-no is already charging me. And sure enough my fighting instinct is doing the thinking for me as I prepare to defend myself_

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

We took advice from that deceiving snake,  
He said don't worry it's a piece of cake.  
And sent us swimming in a burning lake,  
Now we're abandoned here for heaven's sake.

Why don't you...come down too...  
It's such a brutal planet, it's such an ugly world  
Why won't you, come down too...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**_I rush towards her; with Marlene at my side ready to pay back everything she's done to me.  I swear I won't hold back. The second I get close to her, she quickly dashes to one side to avoid me, using her hair to formulate a shield as protection. _**

****

**_Always running away. That's Millia Rage all over. _**

****

**_She thinks she's so special, so divine, and so pure. And because I'm the way I am, I don't get a slice of that purity. I could hate her for it, and I do...but it something all people think they have. Measly bastards. Yet still, people question Justice's reasoning for blowing this shit ass race to pieces. Too bad he had to be so preachy and political about it. But hell knows if I could give a damn about that thing. _**

****

**_All that matters to me right now is making her feel just the way she should feel. _**

****

**_And I'll smash her into the dirt when I'm done. As soon as she stops moving, sliding along the grass of this miserably pathetic countryside, I narrow my eyes down on her. And my sleek fingers pluck at the strings of Marlene. _**

****

**_Instantly, waves of ultra-sonic, stone-tearing energy cut through the barriers of the crisp air, right for Millia. The blast slices through her shield of hair, and rams into her lower abdomen, knocking the breath right out of her. I'll be damned if I let her get away with what she's done. _**

****

**_She left me...for that fucking shadow of hers. _**

****

**_She gives her heart to him, but she shows nothing but contempt to me. She's the souring angel, while I'm the dirty stain on the floor. But I have the power now. This is my damn time. _**

****

**_I'm on top now._**

****

**_What do you have, Millia? What the fuck do you have!? I have power, I have strength. I have Marlene by my side. What the hell do you know?! What the hell do you have?! Why the hell do you have the right to turn me away?!_**

****

**_You can't ignore me now! You won't get away with pissing me around after I gave you my fucking body! _**

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

This world is such perfection (What a sight)  
It's just like paradise (For my eyes)  
A truly grand creation (What a sight)  
From up here it looks so nice (For my eyes)

Here's where we keep the armies, here's where we write those names,  
Here's where the money god is, here's our famous hall of shame.  
Here's where we starve the hungry, here's where we cheat the poor,  
Here's where we beat the children, here is where we pay the whore.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Uggh...

_I...my body...can't take much more of this..._

_I yell fiercely as each of I-no's attacks collide with my body. I feel me knees giving out on me in addition. I...cannot cope with it all... _

_The final blast from I-no knocks me straight from my feet, and my body is tossed across the grass from its absolute force. I cough up small traces of blood from my throat. She's...willingly hurting me. But I can't bring myself...to fight back. _

_I don't want to hurt her...and I know deep down that she doesn't want to hurt me. But she blinds herself with that anger...am...I like that? She once told me that my zealous nature would follow Zato into the grave. Was she right? Am I...this serious about it?  _

_Why is it that the more I see of this woman...the more I see of myself? _

_I can't ponder it anymore...I feel myself...slipping. And I see her intimidating presence towering over me. But just before I lose...consciousness, I realize what is about to happen. _

_I-no is going to kill me. _

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Here's where we keep the armies, here's where we write those names,  
Here's where the money god is, here's our famous hall of shame.  
Here's where we starve the hungry, here's where we cheat the poor,  
Here's where we beat the children, here is where we pay the whore.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**_She can't fucking run from me now. I made sure of that. I have Marlene at the ready, and my hand is poised to strike at her strings. But yet I freeze. Just like before, I freeze up when the prospect of killing Millia._**

****

**_Why can't I finish her?_**

****

**_Why am I so besotted with her? I've just demolished an entire village on nothing more than a whim. I slaughtered those blind cattle like the cheap stock they were. Yet when I see her...I can't…end her._**

**_Why?_**

****

**_It...can't be love...I can't love that cowardly bitch...no..._**

****

**_Why the hell can't I kill her?_**

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Why don't you...come down too...  
It's such a brutal planet, it's such an ugly world  
Why won't you...come down too...

This world is such perfection (What a sight)  
It's just like paradise (For my eyes)  
A truly grand creation (What a sight)  
From up here it looks so nice (For my eyes)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~__

_I slowly draw up from my sleep. It is dark. And I am in one piece. I look for her, but I do not find her. All I see is Zato's body, left there for me to what I want with. By I-no._

_She didn't end my life, but now she's gone._

_Do I care for her? Or am I..._

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~__

Right here we stoned the prophets, built idols out of mud,  
Right here we fed the lions, Christian flesh and Christian blood.  
Down here is where we hung ya, upon an ugly cross;  
Over there we filled the ovens, right here the holocaust. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I-no sighed angrily as she waited quietly in the rain for her quarry. Millia was not her concern anymore. Millia didn't love her at all. So there was no sense in wasting her time on the blonde assassin. It would just be better to do what she did best.

Kill. 

A deathly grin tugged at I-no's lips as she heard a voice all out to her. 

The gruff voice was deep. "Bring that bastard out here."

"Well, well, well..." I-no began. "Corrupted Flame. You don't call, you don't write, I was beginning to think I'd never see you again, asshole."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

THE END

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kaiser's Afterthought's 

* Geh. Was it me or was that ending total crap? Geez, I did have a much better ending for the _Kage no Ren'ai_ series, but...I didn't like the road it was going down. A little *too* dark if you ask me. I could write up the different ending but...eh...Oh well. I'm starting my Millia/I-no love afresh, with a whole new multi-chapter story. Although, I can't say how long you'll have to wait for it. 


End file.
